The Reptiles of Western North America Vol. 1: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon Washington Idaho Utah Nevada Arizona British Columbia Sonora and Lower California'' Lizards (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Reptiles of Western North America Vol. 1: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon Washington Idaho Utah Nevada Arizona British Columbia Sonora and Lower California'' Lizards<br><br>The term reptile is popularly applied to all cold-blooded vertebrates other than fishes. Thus used it includes two groups of animals which differ in many important respects. These are the amphibians and the reptiles proper the former more closely allied to the fishes; the latter to the birds.<br><br>The typical amphibians such as most frogs toads sala manders and newts lay their eggs in the water and the young for a time breathe by means of gills very much as do the fishes. Later on they undergo a metamorphosis during which the gills and other larval characteristics dis appear the tadpole assumes the form and structure of its parents and emerges from the water to breathe air and spend a greater or less portion of its life on land. The skin of our amphibians is not provided with scales but is smooth or warty very glandular and Often covered with a slimy secretion.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases an imperfection in the original such as a blemish or missing page may be replicated in our edition. We do however repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.